Proper control of the amount of ink applied to a printing substrate (i.e., ink film thickness) is one of the most important considerations for optimization of printer performance. Different printers typically deposit different amounts of ink. Ultra-violet (UV) printers, for example, print images by expelling a relatively thick layer of ink onto the printed media, as compared to water-based printers. In order to determine how well a particular printer is working, printer manufacturers typically measure the drop mass of ink droplets applied to a printed substrate (i.e., weight of ink per area of print). Using the calculated drop mass, the manufacturers can adjust various aspects (e.g., ink formulation, printing process, substrate) to optimize performance of the particular printer. This drop-mass measurement, however, generally requires the cutting and weighing of a portion of the printed substrate (e.g., the total weight of the cut-out portion divided by the X millions of drops in the cut-out portion), and such cutting and weighing can be cumbersome processes.